Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to ask if Costco membership is worth it?

92 replies

gassylady · 08/09/2019 16:17

In laws used to have membership years ago and used to buy enormous trays of scones which were lovely. Am now eligible myself and when we move house will have room to do a bit of bulk storage for pasta, rice etc. But is it worth my £50 do they sell decent stuff or is it all dodgy own brands?

OP posts:
Boobiliboobiliboo · 08/09/2019 16:18

You can go and look before committing.

I’ve had membership for years, but the odds of me buying what you’d buy are pretty small!

roses2 · 08/09/2019 16:20

If you have an Aldi or Lidl near you then I don't think it is worth it because they are cheaper than Costco.

Personally I find the quality of food to be comparable to Sainsbury. Marginally cheaper than Sainsbury standard price however when Sainsburys have offers then the offers are better priced.

Costco model is based on buying in bulk so depending on how large your family is it is only worthwhile if you go through products quickly.

ElizaPancakes · 08/09/2019 16:21

None of it is dodgy own brands Confused I’m not sure I really understand what you mean though!

We get trays of tinned tomatoes, large bags of coffee beans and sometimes crisps and stuff like that. We don’t really have space for lots of bulk buying.

A lot of the food is your typical ‘american’ stuff - everything ready made to go in the freezer - but there is a large selection of meats which is good but not cheaper than Tesco or Asda. I buy chicken actually which is good.

I’d take a look before committing, although I think the annual sub is only about £25.

coconuttelegraph · 08/09/2019 16:28

Only you can tell if you'll save more than £1a week or are willing to pay £50 for convenience or particular things so YABU to expect a useful answer

Boobiliboobiliboo · 08/09/2019 16:31

Things I buy from Costco:

  • contact lenses and glasses
  • iTunes gift cards (when on offer)
  • steaks and steak mince
  • person washing liquid and vanish powder (when on offer)
  • butter and cheese
  • frozen chicken tenders and king prawns
  • free range eggs
  • cooked chicken
  • Gillette razor blades
  • car tyres
  • flooring mats for garage
  • sandwich platters for parties
  • cakes for work/school events

And lots and lots of other stuff.

Thebig3 · 08/09/2019 16:44

Are you close to a Costco? We used to have a membership where we used to live as it was a 10min drive so I definitely thought it was worth it. However, when we moved it would have been close to 25min drive and I didnt think it was worth it for that.

They definitely have good deals on and at xmas time it's fantastic for gifts!

MoltoAgitato · 08/09/2019 16:47

Bear in mind that you can’t pay by credit card - debit only. I have membership and use it to buy large bags of frozen fruit and big wedges of cheese, mainly!

Twospaniels · 08/09/2019 16:49

Yes it’s worth it if you have room to store stuff
We buy
Trays of tinned tomatoes, sweetcorn, beans
Kitchen roll
Loo roll
Toiletries
Steak - great value if you have a freezer
Pasta
Dashcam

cheesenpickles · 08/09/2019 17:00

I make it worth it and am careful about what I buy. Tinned, freezeable and splittable are fab. Sauces go down well. Pasta and bulk herbs. I wouldn't bother with the dairy, bread (except the cakes Grin), fruit and veg. Did a Costco shop yesterday and my fridge and cupboard and well stocked. Also loo roll, washing stuff, kitchen towel is good too and Levi's for £35.

cheesenpickles · 08/09/2019 17:00

Petrol as well!

laweaselNW · 08/09/2019 17:02

You 100 per cent can buy using a credit card.

tryingtobebetterallthetime · 08/09/2019 17:12

We have been members for ages, in Canada.

Their own Kirkland brand is consistently high quality. We get their loo rolls and paper towel now mainly because of the quality. Loo roll is soft but effective, and having ulcerative colitis I am a connoisseur!

They have excellent return policies. Never had a problem returning anything. This in itself has made it worthwhile.

We get eggs, laundry and dish detergent, household cleaners etc. which are all well priced. Cereals and spices are cheaper than anywhere else for us. We also get cheese, which we have learned actually freezes well. I keep some flaked Parmesan in the freezer and it tastes great in pasta. We also get good bread.

Their clothing, such as yoga pants, are really good quality and inexpensive. Same with socks and underwear.

It was probably more worth it financially when we had teen boys to feed, but I would miss it if we dropped our membership.

The one big downside here is crowds and parking. Costco is very popular with immigrants from Southeast Asia, who are frugal shoppers and often shop in large family groups. On weekends it is like bumper cars for shopping carts. I understand we have the highest grossing Costco in North America.

BillyAndTheSillies · 08/09/2019 17:20

DH gets a membership through work, we don't have much space to store food but we usually stock up on toilet rolls, tins of soft drinks, washing up and laundry stuff and staples like pesto (which we freeze), tortellini (same for freezing). Their bin bags also last a life time.

It comes in handy for parties, the sandwich platters are great as are the cakes.

Plus, any excuse for one of their hotdogs.

Boobiliboobiliboo · 08/09/2019 17:22

Bear in mind that you can’t pay by credit card - debit only.

Or Americans express.

BarbaraofSeville · 08/09/2019 17:23

It's good for Lavazza coffee, toilet roll, deicer, some types of catfood and cat litter, some fresh products. You could probably save the membership fee but it depends if you have room to store stuff, money to bulk buy, what shops you normally use and how you normally shop etc etc

Some things are no cheaper than supermarkets, especially if you just tend to buy whatever is on offer.

We have membership on and off or look out for Groupon deals (this year got a load of extra freebies that were worth more than the annual membership cost.

What I'll do is stock up massively on the things we buy just before our membership expires and we won't have to go for a few months, so don't pay the full membership every year, IYSWIM.

Best thing to do is go for a browse and decide if it's good for you. If you don't have space or money to bulk buy and normally shop in Aldi, you probably won't save any money, for example.

horsemadgal · 08/09/2019 18:01

It's worth it for the cafe and free samples alone Smile
We only pay £30 odds for 2 cards. My husband has one, I wouldn't go in without him really. His friend has the other. So we pay half of that really.

gassylady · 08/09/2019 18:02

Thanks for all the replies. I didn’t know that you could go for a browse first so I may well do that next weekend.

OP posts:
PenguinPop · 08/09/2019 18:08

Worth it.

coconuttelegraph · 08/09/2019 18:58

You 100 per cent can buy using a credit card

where do you live? In England you can't except for Amex which is a fairly niche card ime

Floralnomad · 08/09/2019 19:07

Not dodgy brands and nothing like shopping at Aldi or Lidl . I have an associate card on my sisters account and we go every 4/6 weeks as it’s about 40 minutes away . We bulk buy Pepsi max / Coke Zero cans when they are on a good offer which is generally always for Pepsi , Andrex or cushelle toilet rolls , laundry stuff , dettol laundry cleanser is really good value as is dettol disinfectant . Apart from the bulk buy stuff we generally get wild bird seed ( very cheap) , Danish pastries , halloumi fries , bacon . Their cooked chickens are excellent , better than any supermarket . We also tend to buy our great niece and nephews birthday and Christmas presents when they have toy offers as they are normally really good .

Mouikey · 08/09/2019 19:10

Beware! It’s like the food/home stuff equivalent of Ikea! Went in last week for loo roll (£14.50 inc vat) and rolls (36 for £3.50), ended up spending just over £80 😱

Some of it is more expensive than Aldi and Lidl but some is good value (2 x 4ltr milk for £1.79), you have to shop wisely!!!

PenguinPop · 08/09/2019 19:15

Also it's worth it if you like higher quality product. For example it's cheaper to buy branded stuff in bulk, and their Kirkland range (we get for loo roll, kitchen roll, and tissue) is thicker/higher quality than you would get from another store's own brand.

MissRabbitNeedsAHoliday · 08/09/2019 19:15

You 100 per cent can buy using a credit card

You cant in Scotland, I made that mistake one day buying lots of Christmas presents that I probably wouldn't have bought all at one time if I wasn't planning to pay with credit card 😂

Do you live near to Costco? I go there for diesel and find that a good price.

Washing powder, fabric softener, nappies, juice & water are all good value. I like it at Christmas too for buying gifts.

I did go in for a few things though and spend a fortune so beware Blush

Boobiliboobiliboo · 08/09/2019 19:22

We call it the £200 shop. Grin

No fuel station at ours, sadly.

LunarSea · 08/09/2019 19:26

Costco personalised decorated cakes for events / celebrations are great value: services.costco.co.uk/cake/
Also if your has a filling station that's always cheaper. Use it for your regular fuel purchases and it would pay for the card.